Well atleast it was sunny for a few days this week...sigh...The rain came back in a very nasty fashion on Thursday. Just in time for my hill workout!
The SFU team practices at 330pm on thursdays, so I often go in the morning on my own, or usually with Rebecca and Julia. So this last Thursday it was just me and becs (and coach brit with her umbrella and big warm coat). Juila was sick:( We met at Horizons on Burnaby Mountain (SFU, basically). It was maybe 2C and absolutely pouring down rain. We warmed up for 20 minutes and were still cold and now completely soaked! We skipped most of our stretching, did some quick drills and strides and jumped right into hills. I did 20 mins continuous hills- run up hard, back down moderate. The "Big Hill" is about 1 min and the "Small Hill" is about 30 seconds. I did 10 mins of both. I felt ok, but my muscles just weren't warming up! Right after we jogged over to to the terf soccer field (5 min jog). We did 3 times 40,30,15 with 20 seconds between each and 1:30 rest after one set. When we finished all I could think about was how much I just wanted to go home and get warm in the shower!!! We skipped the 15-20 min warm down, as we were already freezing and just jogged 5 mins back to our cars. It was a miserable day for running, but thank god I had becs there to run with me....otherwise I would have never gotten through it!
Yesterday (Saturday), I did a workout at Mundy park on my own (Jules and Becs were both not feeling great). Mundy park is one of my favorite places to run. Its all bulk murch trails with lots of hills (big and small). The perimeter loop is about 5k, but there are tons of different trails you can take. My workout was:
24 min warm up, drills and strides.
5 min hard, 3 min moderate, 7 min hard, 3 min moderate, 5 min hard.
15 min warm down.
It was a good workout. I felt great today, but didn't over-do it. I was also happy it wasn't raining:)
Today, sunday, it was raining again....luckily not nearly as bad as Thursday, but enough to get me wet and make my hair a rat's nest by the end. I ran 80 mins with Becs at Burnaby Lake....It was a good run! I always enjoy sunday morning runs!
Only 10 days till we leave from Trinidad for NACACs!!! I'm very excited!!!!
Ok bye bye! TRAIN HARD AND HAVE FUN!!!
After weeks of all rain and clouds the sun has finally come back!!!! I was very excited to wake up Sunday morning for my long run to the beautiful sunshine! My motivation is much higher when the sun is out, even if its -5C!
Last Thursday I woke up to a nasty cold. It kinda came out of no-where and came on strong! I did a pre-race workout-
23 min warm up, drills/strides
4 X (40,30,15) secs off 20 second recovery. Pretty easy stuff, just getting the legs going a bit.
15 min warm down.
I actually felt a lot better after my workout, and thought I was beating my cold.....However, that wasn't the reality. Even though Friday was my rest day from running, I worked 7 hours (I'm a server at the Boathouse Restaurant). It was very busy and I was exhausted when I got home on Friday night....I was super congested and could barely talk.....Not good news, as I was supposed to leave for Seattle in the morning to race 3k.
I woke up Saturday morning still feeling pretty shitty. I was supposed to leave at 11am to head down to the University of Washington for an indoor 3000m. I called my coach and asked her if she thought I should still race even though I was sick. She told me to go run for 10 mins to see how I felt. That didn't end up going over too well....I was super winded and exhausted. Turns out my cold was winning the battle. So after much consideration I decided to rest and not race. I was very frustrated and disappointed. I had really been looking forward to this race, and felt like I was ready to run fast. But there was not point racing if I wasn't 100%. I have decided to go down to Seattle on Feb. 12 for the Huskie Invite to race another 3000m. I really want to get a PB in the 3000 this season, and this is my last/only chance indoors!
I took Saturday off completely and just stayed home and watched Movies with my fiance. It was a great, lazy day! When Sunday rolled around I felt tremendously better, and was able to do my long run with no problems. I met Jules and Becs at Burnaby Lake at 930am. B. Lake is a large, flat loop (approx 10k). Mostly packed dirt and bulk march. We love running there. Ended up running about 77 mins.
Monday I ran from home in Rocky Point Park. I live across the street from this awesome park and run here quite often. Its got a paved path as well as a dirt/bulk march path. From one end of the park to the other is 3k, so I just continue running along the quite roadside to get extra miles. I ran 62 mins, about half on the trails and half on the pavement. I went to the gym after and did about 30 mins of strength and core work.
Today (tues) we were at Como Lake Park this morning. Even though it was cold, the sun felt so good! Como Lake is a relatively flat 1k loop. There are markers every 200m (very convenient). The footing around the lake is quite uneven, making it difficult to get a good running rhythm going. Its mostly packed dirt trail and bulk march. Lots of little dips in the trails and today there was a few icy patches we had to be careful of. With the sun, came lots of people walking around the lake. Can be very annoying weaving around people when you are doing hard interval work! So my workout today went as follows-
20 min warm up. Drills/strides (15 mins).
2k (3 min rest), 1k (3 min rest), 800m (2 min rest), 600m (2 min rest), 4 X 400m (90 sec rest).
6:43, 3:15, 2:33, 1:56, mostly 75s for the 400s. It was a good workout for me today! I struggled a bit through my last 400, but I made it!
20 min warm down.
My shins were a bit sore today after practice, so I was sure to get some ice time in after! Ok, so thats enough for now!
Happy running everyone!!!!!
Hello! Welcome to my new running blog!!! Just a few things about me to get started- I run competitively in road races, cross-country and track...distances from 1500m to 10k, and maybe even a half marathon here and there. My personal bests include:
1500m- 4:25 (July 2010)
3000m- 9:40 (Jan 2010- indoors)
5000m- 16:12 (June 2010)
5k road- 16:50 (June 2010)
6k cross country- 20:34 (October 2009)
8k road- 27:51- (January 2010)
10k road- 34:49- (May 2010)
2010 was kinda a big break-out year for me....but I'm hoping 2011 will be even better!!! I've got tons of races lined up, and am very excited to see what happens....
I live in Port Moody and train with the SFU group under head coach Brit Townsend. My main training partners are fellow SFU alumni, Julia Howard and Rebecca Johnstone. Both are extremley talented runners- Julia holds a PB of 4:11 in the 1500 and 2:01 in the 800. Rebecca has also run 2:01 in the 800 and 4:17 for the 1500m. Although they both race different distances then me, a lot of our training is similar. They have been a huge part of my success as a runner in the past year. I love running with them; they have such a positive attitude at every practice, its very inspiring!
I would be considered as a "low-milage" distance runner, usually running about 80-90km a week. I've tried to increase my miles, but just end up being exhausted and running like shit. My week usually looks something like this-
Monday- 50-60 min run, followed by 30 mins core work/strength training
Tuesday- with the group doing interval type workout
Wednesday- Same as monday
Thursday- Same as tuesday
Friday- off or cross train
Saturday- race or interval/tempo session with group
Sunday- 80-90 min run
I would like to get to 100km a week, so that's a goal for this spring. Speaking of this spring, I've got a lot on my plate...so my more important upcoming races include-
3000m (indoors) at the University of Washington- Jan 29
6k at the NACAC cross country champs in Trinidad- Feb 20
6k at the world cross country champs in Spain (if we qualify at NACACs)-March
5000m on the track at Mt. Sac Relays in California- April
10k on the road at the Times Colonist in Victoria- May
I will probably throw in some random 5k road races, and maybe a few track races. Its still up in the air....I just recently declined an invitation to race the half marathon at the Canadian Champs in Montreal in April. I wanted to do it, as it was full air/food/accomodation included and would be a great oppurtunity. However its the same weekend as Mt. Sac Relays in Cali, and my coach really wants me to race there. She doesn't want me doing any halfs at all this year....Probably for the best as I don't do any training for the half....would have just ran it unprepared and in lots of pain! lol....
Ok, so I guess that's good enough for an intro post....I will write each week or whenever I have time about how the running is progressing!!!
